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Capitalising on Arabic SEO

On September 27th, WebQuest SEO conducted a workshop in cooperation with Ureed focusing on the definition of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as a general concept as it pertains to developing Arabic content on the internet. Highlighting the key disciplines of SEO, workshop participants gained insights on developing content geared towards Arabic internet users.

If you weren’t able to make the workshop, you’re in luck! Here are a few of the key takeaways from last month’s SEO workshop.

Arabic SEO Content

The internet has carved out a place around the globe in mainstream culture. With well over half of the world’s population online, the latest data indicates that nearly a quarter of a billion new users came online for the first time in 2017. Among the users surfing the net are over 220 million users from the Arabic world, which constitutes around 5.3% of internet users worldwide.

Despite the large number of Arabic internet users worldwide, Arabic content constitutes a mere 0.6 % of available content currently on the internet. This massive gap provides an opportunity for companies and websites to capitalize on the lack of quality Arabic content on the Internet to gain a competitive edge within their industries.

When it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), the fundamentals are the same regardless of the language you are optimizing for. Essentially, the basics for optimizing in English are the same as if you are optimizing for websites in Arabic, French, English, or any other language.

Why Google?

If you look at market share in terms of search engines in the Middle East, it’s apparent that Google dominates search engines. In fact, Google’s market share boasts an impressive 90% – 95% of searches conducted in the Middle East regardless of the search language.

Consider the implications for a moment. While this means more traffic, it also means your content needs to shine and meet all of Google’s Quality Guidelines to generate the most traction.

What Disciplines Fall Under SEO?

One of the fundamental ideas behind SEO is to understand what Search Engine Optimization

entails. At WebQuest, we believe several disciplines are needed to create successful a weareblackandwhite seo content. Like pieces to a puzzle, all four disciplines are required to succeed, these are:

Technical Discipline

Marketing Discipline

Communications Discipline

Analytics Discipline

In addition to these four disciplines, a primary focus of the workshop centered around the essential building blocks of SEO, including Keyword Research and On Page SEO.

Keyword Research

The first topic to consider when conducting Search Engine Optimization is keyword research. Keyword research is a core SEO factor which includes identifying the most popular words and phrases people enter into search engines.

Keyword research offers guidance and direction to optimization efforts. Researching keywords provide marketers with a refined understanding of how high the demand is for certain keywords. Once these words are identified, they can then determine how hard it would be to compete for those specific terms in the organic search results.

The objective of this exercise is to gain a better understanding as to how the target audience (i.e. the customer) of a particular website are searching for the products and services of the designated website.

In order to successfully accomplish this task, it’s important to understand the different kinds of searches potential customers searching for a product or service will perform. On the highest level, these searches can be broken down into the following types of searches:

Information-based searches – These searches involve the searcher looking for specific information. Generally, the purpose of their search is research-based and most likely, the searcher is not looking to buy a product or service.

Navigation-based searches – These searches are used for finding directions or the contact information for a specific company or a website. As with research-based searches, the searcher is not looking to buy a product or service, but to reach a website or location.

Transaction-based searches – These searches are exactly what they sound like, the searcher is looking for a specific product or service. Transaction-based searches have the highest rate of convergence. The combined number of overall searches for this type of search is low in comparison to the other search types. However, this type of search results in the most business for the designated website. Transaction-based searches should be the primary focus for a business looking to elevate their SEO efforts.

On Page SEO Elements

Just as important as keyword research, On Page SEO elements form the backbone of an effective Search Engine Optimization strategy. Some of the elements focused on during the workshop included the following:

Page Titles – The page title is the text you see at the top of the browser page of a website. A critical component of your SEO, your page title should be unique for every page on your website. These links should contain less than 65 characters of text, and they should always mention your brand or company name towards the end of this text.

Meta Descriptions – Meta descriptions are not visible directly on your website. This is the visible text that appears in the search engine results. Meta descriptions are what you use to speak directly to a searcher and potential visitors to your website. When writing your meta descriptions, be sure to your text does not exceed 155 characters, and include a clear Call To Action.

URLs– The URL is the address of a webpage. URLs should be readable and easy to remember. When developing your URLs, be sure to indicate what the specific page is talking about. As you search, you may notice many sites that have a “page=1” in them. This is not conducive to an effective SEO strategy, as these pages typically do not indicate what the page is talking about.

As with all other content aspects, the above elements can be customized for the language you are using on your designated website.

Refining Your Approach to SEO

Regardless of size or scope, Search Engine Optimization offers many benefits for businesses. On the global playing field, SEO is even more important. Search engines, especially country-specific searches such as the UAE, return results that are local for searchers. Adding localization to your SEO strategy will help your content be found by target audiences worldwide. Additionally, adding multiple languages to your website will return more organic results to drive traffic and business.

At WebQuest, we believe when you combine the four essential SEO disciplines (i.e., Technical, Marketing, Communications, and Analytics) with Keyword Research and On Page SEO, you’ll be headed on the path to creating a successful SEO strategy for your business. We specialize in developing SEO strategies for both English and Arabic websites that outrank the competition in the search engines. Contact a member of our team to learn more about how we can help your organization thrive.